Collection and removal of leaves, or other similar debris such as tree blossoms, fruits, nuts, or the like, is a common task for land and homeowners. The leaves or other debris must be removed from the lawn in a timely fashion. Unless the leaves are removed in a timely fashion they will slowly begin to decompose and can present a haven for moulds, insects and rodents. Furthermore, leaves that are strewn across a lawn and not removed are generally unsightly and can cause damage to the lawn if left for an excessive period of time.
Traditionally leaves and other debris have been collected by means of raking into piles for removal, or in some cases incineration. More recently, others have developed less labour intensive machines that may be used to vacuum leaves from the ground surface and deposit them into bags or other containers so that they may be disposed of or composted. Still others have proposed the use of high powered blowers that move and accumulate leaves. Machines have also been developed that mulch leaves into fine pieces so that they may be more readily broken down and absorbed into the soil.
Unfortunately, none of these prior methods of disposing of leaves and similar debris have met with complete success. Raking tends to be a labour intensive and physically demanding task. While vacuuming leaves into large bags or containers can be effective, the costs associated with the necessary equipment are in many cases prohibitive. Leaf blowers are also relatively expensive and generate excessive noise, to the extent that their use is restricted in some locations. Mulching leaves in-situ can add significantly to the level of thatch within a lawn which in some cases can have a debilitating effect. Finally, much of the equipment that has been developed to replace the need for raking is powered by gasoline engines that can be both costly to operate and environmentally damaging.
There have been many other devices described in the prior art that address the same issues. These include, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 323,252, 914,087, 979,346, 4,644,740, 4,865,372, 4,970,853, 5,069,026, 5,142,855, 6,463,727 and US patent publication 20070157593, which all describe various related devices.
Additionally, Root et al., in US Patent publication No. 2004/0178646 provide a device to assist in collection of this debris, which consists of a dedicated hopper which can be pushed across the lawn to collect the leaves into a larger pile for removal. In one embodiment, the hopper includes a series of “fingers” extending from the hopper which attempt to “rake” through the grass as the hopper is pushed along the lawn surface. However, in the Root device, as well as other prior art devices that use “fingers”, the fingers can be prone to catching on larger debris, or even on uneven patches in the lawn. They also rely on maintaining a specific angle in order for the fingers to function properly. Consequently, they are prone to exposing the operator and the device, to impact shock which could lead to breakage of the fingers. This is exacerbated by the fact that, typically, the weight of the entire unit rests on these fingers.
A further disadvantage of the Root device, is it's relatively large size which would be equal to a large shovel. As such, storage of the device when not in use, can be an issue.
As such, an improved device for collection of leaves would be desirable.